PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION | 2ND SEMESTER PRELIMINARIES | B-111

MEANING OF COMMUNICATION COMMUNICATION Sender:

AS: ● A sender is a person who encode and sends
● A process through which individuals the message to the expected receiver
mutually exchange their ideas, values, through an appropriate channel.
thought, feeling and actions with one or ● A sender is the source of the message that
more people. is generated to deliver the receiver message
● The transfer of information from the sender after appropriate stimulus from the
to the receiver so that it can be understood reference.
in the right context.
● It is a process of initiating, transmitting and Message:
receiving information. ● The message is the content of
● The means of making the transfer of communication and may contain verbal,
information productive and goal oriented. nonverbal or symbolic language.
● The process of sharing information, ideas ● Perception and personal factors of the
and attitudes between individuals. sender and receiver may sometimes distort
this element and the intended outcome of
DEFINITIONS FOR COMMUNICATION BY communication may not be achieved. For
DIFFERENT AUTHORS example, the same message may be
● According to Newman and Summer, " communicated or perceived differently by
Communication is exchange of facts, ideas, two individuals.
opinion or emotions by two or more
persons." Channel:
● According to Behind Brown, ● A channel is the medium through which a
"Communication is the transmission and message is sent or received between two or
interchange of facts, ideas, feelings or more people.
course of action." ● Several channels can be used to send or
● According to Cumming M.W, "The word receive the message, that is seeing,
communication describes the process of hearing, touching, smelling and tasting.
conveying messages (facts, ideas, attitudes ● While selecting channels of communication,
and opinions) from one person to another, seven factors are considered: availability of
so that they can understood." channels, purpose, suitability, type of
● According to Megginson. "Communication is receiver, type of message, preference of
the process of transmitting meanings, ideas sender and receiver, communication skills of
the sender, cost, etc.
and understanding of a person or a group to
● Channel: vehicle through which a message
another person or a group." Elements of
is sent
communication ● Examples: x Magazines × TV x Radio

Referent: CLASSIFICATION OF CHANNEL OF

● A reference motivates the sender (or COMMUNICATION
receiver) to share information (message, ● Visual channel: Facial expression, body
objects, sounds, site, time, schedule, language, posture, gestures, pictures &
ideas, perceptions, sensation, emotion, written words, electronic mails, mass media,
odour, etc.) that may initiate communication. etc.
● For example, a nurse sighting a patient with ● Auditory channel: Spoken words, sounds,
difficulty in breathing may serve as a referent telephone or mobile communications,
delivering audio content (radio, voicemail),
to the nurse promoting her to initiate
etc.
communication with the patient. ● Tactile channel: Touch sensations.
● Combined channel: Audio-visual media,
consoling a person with touch and spoken
words.
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Receiver: body movements, posture, gesture, facial

● A receiver is an individual or a group of expressions & silence are used for
individuals intended to receive, decode and sending and receiving the message.
interpret the message sent by the sender / ● Nonverbal communication is more
source of message. accurate way of communication because it
● Receiver also known as decoder. convey the true and intended meaning of
● He is expected to have the ability and skills the message.
to receive, decode and interpret the
message Non verbal communication may be accomplished
by the following means:
Feedback:
● It is the return message sent by the receiver ● Touch
to the sender. ● Eye contact
● It is most essential element of ● Facial expression
communication process as it shows that the ● Posture
receiver has understood the primary ● Gesture
message sent by the sender & the ● Physical appearance
communication process is now considered ● Sound
complete. ● Silence
● A successful communication must be a two-
way process where the sender sends a ii) Based on purpose of communication
message and receives feedback from the
receiver. a) Formal communication:
● This feedback will be verbal and nonverbal. ● Formal communication flows line of authority
and is generally used in organisation to
Type of communication achieve organisational objectives.
1. Based on means of delivering the message. ● For example, the manager will contact the
2. Based on purpose of communication. supervisor for any updates and information
3. Based on levels of communication. rather than contacting directly to labour or
4. Based on patterns of communication. workers.

i) Based on means of delivering the message b) Informal communication

● Informal communication does not flow line of
a) Verbal communication: authority.
● It occurs through the medium of spoken or ● Example of informal communication are
written. gossip, ChitChat and kitty parties.
● A combination of several words is used ● It is very fast and usually takes place in social
and each word conveys a specific group like friends, family, peer groups, etc.
meaning.
● Some important elements of verbal c) Therapeutic communication:
communication are language, vocabulary, ● Therapeutic communication take place
clarity, intonation, consciousness, between health care personnel and a patient,
precisencess brevity, comprehension, with the purpose of modifying the patient
timing and relevance. behaviour.
● This is accomplished with repeated
Types of verbal communication
interaction using certain attribute such as
● Spoken communication.
trust, empathy, tenderness, concern & non-
● Written communication.
● Telecommunication. judgemental attitude.
● Electronic Communication.

b) Nonverbal communication
● This communication occurs without words,
where the five senses and whole range of
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iii) Based on levels of communication and media material to reach member of public
clearly and loudly.

a) Intrapersonal communication:
f) Organizational communication:
● It take place within an individual, we may also
● It takes place when individual and
say it is self-talk.
Groups communicate within an organisation.
● It is crucial because it provide a person with
● People in an organisation
an opportunity to assess self or a situation,
before acting on it, ultimately affecting the communicate with each other to achieve
person behaviour. established organisational goals.

b) Intrapersonal communication
● It takes place whenever two or more people iv) Based on the pattern of communication
interact and exchange messages or ideas.
● This is also one of the most common form of a) One-way communication:
communication in our daily lives. ● It take place when message are
● Interpersonal communication may further delivered to the audience from the
categorised into assertive, nonassertive and communicator only without constant
aggressive communication. feedback.
● A common example of one-way
c) Transpersonal communication: communication is lecture delivered in the
● It takes place within a person's spiritual classroom.
domain.
● The purpose of transpersonal communication b) Two-way communication:
is to realise selfhood, enhance spirituality and
answer questions that are equal in nature. Press Conference
● It take place when the
c) Transpersonal communication communicator and audience take part in
It occurs within a person's spiritual domain. the process.
Many persons use prayer, meditation ● The audience may raise question
religious rituals to communicate with their and add information, ideas and opinions
higher power. Nurses who value the on the subject.
importance of human spirituality often use this
form of communication with clients and for c) Many-to-one communication:
themselves. ● Many-to-one communication takes
place when several people communicate with
d) Small group communication: one person at the same time.
● Communication among three or ● A panel of experts taking an
more people and are perhaps equally active interview is an example of many-to-one
parties, who are usually in proximity and who communication.
are usually in close proximity.
● A relatively small collection of PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION
individuals who are related to each other by
some common purpose. Communication is a basic life skill which enables us to
build human relations. As we live each day, we engage
e) Public communication: in various communication situations. From the moment
● Public is generally defined as a large we wake up and start our daily routine, we
group of people. communicate with our family, the people we meet
● Communication with such a large around as we leave home for work, or school, and in
group of people is known as public every activity we do each day. It is a must for us to
communication. communicate with others. These things show that
● Public communication requires communication is an inescapable and fundamental
essential skills to influence people at large aspect of human being. Even when we leave in
isolation from other people, we talk to ourselves
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through our thoughts. “Communication is the process Noise

where we could convey who we are, to ourselves and • The message received may not be the same
to others” (Beebe, Beebe & Ivy, 2016, p. 26). message sent. This happens when there is
noise or interference which interrupts and
THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS distorts the intended message ( Dwyer, 2016).

Message THEORIES OF COMMUNICATION

• The idea or concept transmitted to the
receiver is called the message. The message 1. Linear Model.
must It is one way model of communication
be structured and communicated clearly to with others. It simply shows the encoding and decoding
achieve understanding. It must draw a process and the use of channel in transmitting or
connection between the sender and receiver. sending messages. Such model highlights that there is
clear cut beginning and end to communication.
Channel
• A communication channel refers to the
pathway by which the message gets
transmitted from
sender to receiver. It also refers to any
medium or vehicle from which we could get
the
message across the receiver.
An example for linear model is ARISTOTLE’S MODEL
Receiver OF COMMUNICATION. Classical rhetoric is practice in
• The primary role of the receiver is to decode early Greek society that is why the model shows three
or interpret the message. The interpretation of elements – the speaker, message, and audience,
the message may be different from what the which are components of public speaking.
sender has hoped the receiver would have
had Aristotle points out that the person at the end of the
due to several factors such as differences on communication process holds the key to whether or not
perception and intention, or probably with communication takes place.
certain barriers to communication. This means a greater consideration and understanding
of the audience or listeners is a key to effective public
Feedback speaking.
• Giving feedback means responding to the
message of the sender. As interaction
happens, the sender and receiver exchange
roles through constant feeding back of
information. The
receiver’s feedback can be intentional or
unintentional. The receiver’s reaction towards
In HAROLD LASSWELL’S MODEL “Who says what
the
to whom with what effect” which was drawn from his
message reflects whether understanding is
studies on political campaigning and propagandas in
achieved or not.
the American Presidential Elections in 1948, raises the
issue of “effect” rather than meaning.
Context
The elements shown on the model includes “Who”
• Context pertains to the situation,
which is the “Source”; “Says What”, the message; “To
circumstances or setting within which
Whom”, the destination.
communication takes
place.
There is emphasis on the manner at which the
message is communicated which refers to how the
message is transferred or transmitted with the use of a
channel or medium to a destination, and the desired
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“effect”. Lasswell’s model was primarily focused on

messages delivered through mass media and their
effects on audiences such as the newspapers on
readers, television on viewers and radio on listeners
and other audiences of mass media. The model has
been used in many media communication studies.

In 1960, David Berlo introduced the S-M-C-R model of

communication anchored from Shannon and Weaver’s
model. He described the factors affecting the elements
or components of communication which are the sender, Wilbur Schramm, a communication scholar and the
message, channel, and receiver. The model indicates founding “Father of Mass Communication”,
that for effective communication to take place, the presented the “Fields of Experience” model of
source and receiver needs to be in the same level or communication. His studies on communication
they should be similar in their characteristics such as in resulted to several models of communication and
their communication skills, attitudes, knowledge, social paved the way for the development of the
system and culture. It also shows linear communication communication field or discipline. The model shows the
with no concept of feedback and noise which means importance of life experiences, attitudes, values, and
there is no two way communication. beliefs to communicator’s interaction because these
factors shape how messages are sent from source to
2. Interactive Model. receiver and how they interpreted or given meaning. It
It is two linear models stacked on top of each other. It also expands the process of encoding and decoding
is on this model where the sender and receiver are the message, and the two-way circular communication.
shown to have alternate roles as they interact or Compared to Shannon Weaver’s model which denotes
respond to their communication. There is emphasis on a more mathematical and technological description of
feedback which means that communication is a the communication process, Schramm’s model
twoway process. The “field of experience” which incorporates the study of human behavior in
includes cultural background, ethnicity, geographic understanding the complex nature of communication.
location, and general personal experiences could draw
interaction and engagement to both communicators
since they will be responding and reacting as they
communicate.

The Information theory of Claude Shannon and

Warren Weaver shows eight discrete components
namely: (1) an information source, a person who
creates the message; (2) the message, which is both
sent by the source and received by the destination; (3)
a transmitter, which may be a telephone instrument that
captures signal, or in television broadcast which
requires the use of cameras and microphones; (4) the
signal, which flows through a channel; (5) a carrier or
3. Transactional Model.
channel which may be light, air, electricity, radio waves;
It assumes that people are connected through
(6) noise, which may obscure or confuse the signal; (7)
communication since they engage themselves in a
a receiver such as an antenna or television set; and (8)
transaction. This means the sender and receiver
a destination which is presumably a person who
recognize their role in the process and know how their
consumes or process the message. The theory
communication can affect them. Communication is fluid
explains the complex process of new communication
or simultaneous such as when persons have
systems which show the use of different
conversations, there is reciprocity when both
communication technologies. The model was later on
communicators send and receive messages. The
elaborated with the inclusion of feedback to address
social interaction means communicators are
the need to describe interpersonal communication.
performing their roles in creating and understanding
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meaning of messages. The constant giving of feedback

denotes interaction and engagement.

Charle’s Osgood, an American Psychologist, worked

with Schramm in developing a circular model of
communication. The model shows the reciprocal
nature of interpersonal communication. Though in
standard linear communication where a source sends
a message through a medium to a receiver where it is
processed, this does not complete interpersonal
communication. The receiver must decode and
interpret the sender’s message and then give feedback
and vice versa. The model creates a better
understanding of the process and nature of human
communication. A typical example of such Foulger presented in the model four fundamental
communication flow is on conversations of people constructs depicting communication between creators
which involve interpersonal communication. and consumers mediated by messages which are
created using language within media; consumed from
media and interpreted using language. He finds the
model as a more detailed elaboration of Lasswell’s
model “Who… says what…in which channel…to
whom…with what effect”. Foulger explained that the
“Who” represents the creators of messages, the “Says
what” are the messages and “In which channel”
referring to the use of language and media, and “To
whom” are the consumers of messages, and the
“Effects” which are found in various relationships,
With the development of theories in communication,
perspectives, attributions, interpretations and the
derivative models were developed to further studies on
continuing evolution of language and media. He also
communication and provide deeper analysis on the
pointed out a number of relationships described in the
complex and dynamic field of communication. Since
model which are as follow:
there is no grand or universal theory that completely
explains the dynamic process and effects of
1. Messages are created and consumed using
communication, there was integration of some models
language.
of communication to better describe how
2. Language occurs within the context of media.
communication work especially with the changing
3. Messages are constructed and consumed
environment and culture today. To address certain
within the context of media.
issues and explore queries about communication, an
4. The roles of consumer and creator are
Ecological Model of Communication is presented by
reflexive.
Davis Foulger on his article “Models of the
5. The roles of consumer and creator are
Communication Process.” The model is a unification
introspective.
model derived from Foulgar’s studies on
6. The messages creators of messages
communication.
construct are necessarily imperfect
representations of meaning they imagine.
7. A consumer’s interpretation of messages
necessarily attributes meaning imperfectly.
8. People learn language by or through
experience of encountering language being
used within media.
9. People learn by using media.
10. People invent and evolve languages.
11. People invent and evolve media.
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“In everything, do to others as you would have In the article of Johannensen, he stated “the question
them do to you: for this is the law of the of ethics in communication is not a new study for even
prophets”—New Testament, Gospel of Matthew during the ancient times, with text dating back to 2,400
BC, The Egyptian Book of the Dead contains a kind of
The verse under the Gospel of Matthew talks about creed or standard of behavior which the virtuous were
how we should deal with others on this earthly life and expected to recite to pass successfully from the world
the “Golden Rule” is to treat others the way we would of living to the realm of the dead.”
want to be treated by others. This seems to be a simple
rule to follow. However, with the intricacies of human People have to observe and follow virtues and values
life, it is hardly being practice by others. In human or a system of moral principles which guide them in
relationships, our interaction with people brings doing what is right. In ancient India, there is great
challenges as to how we should be relating with one emphasis on “truthfulness” which is considered as the
another. greatest service one person can render another”(
Kirkwood 213). In Jewish and Christian scriptures, the
Our relationships with others are built upon Ten Commandments ( Exodus 20: 1-17) and the
communication we do every day as we go by our daily Sermon on the Mount ( Matthew 5-7) both contains
human activities. When we engage with others, we guidelines for religion, marriage, treatment of others,
seek for understanding, cooperation, and the honesty, and respect for the truth. Even the Confucian
accomplishment of our goals. No matter how simple or codes of China dating from the sixth century, AD, detail
complex our interactions, we influence each other how one should behave in a benevolent and virtuous
through communication. The influence we do may be way.
positive or negative or, good or bad. Thus, we must
always be careful with our communication with others. The Greek philosopher Aristotle discussed in his books
When we communicate, we must choose words for the what contributes to the creation of a good and just
effect they will have on our audiences, on ourselves, society. He emphasized the application of good
and ultimately in society. We, therefore, have to be judgment when faced with decisions about courses of
aware about how helpful or harmful our actions lead us. action ( Ostwald xxi). The foundation of ethics is rooted
Communication has ethical dimensions that we must on religion and philosophy which until now are being
understand so we could effectively communicate and studied and have become basis for ethical judgments
create a positive impact on others. we do in various situations may it be on a personal,
professional, or even organizational level.
What is Ethics?
• Ethics is defined as the “discussion, Ethical Communication
determination, and deliberation processes • Ethics is an integral part of communication. As
that attempt to decide what is right or wrong, human beings, our daily interactions with
what others should do or should not do, and others involve communication. When we
what is considered appropriate in our communicate, we decide what is the purpose
individual, communal, and professional lives” or purposes of our relationship with others.
( By, Burnes, & Oswick, 2012; Japps, Meister, We must decide how to behave and respond
& Japp, 2005; Johannensen, Valdes, & to the situation. We must give regard to the
Whedbee, 2008). This simply means that consequences of our actions to others, and
when we communicate, we should consider ourselves. How do you tell your friend that he
the best course of action to take to make our or she is not being honest with you in such a
communication meaningful to others and way it would not affect your relationship? How
ourselves. We must pay attention to how we would you respond to a neighbor whose
behave and how we could create karaoke nights disturb the peace and
understanding with others. There are ethical quietness of your home? How do you tell your
considerations in every communication boss about your co-employee who slacks on
situation we engage ourselves into such as his job and how it affects your team’s work?
how we could communicate with fairness, What we say and do on these situations would
dignity, and respect which are foundation of have implication to you and others.
ethical behavior.
• Ethical communication encompasses being
honest in all communications, keeping
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confidential information confidential, and not 3. Ethical communicators respect “truth”. Part of
discussing the personal or business situations the intention of communicating is the trust on
of others in public or in front of a third party. the other person which means there is honest
Ethical communication involves ethical and truthful communication we do each time
behavior which means to act with equity, we communicate. There would be underlying
fairness, impartiality and respect for the rights consequences on our relations and
of others. interaction with others if there is mistrust
between communicators which may probably
10 Basics of Ethical Communication be a result of lying or deception on others.
1. Seek to “elicit the best” in communications
and interactions with other group members. 4. Ethical communicators use information
2. Listen when others speak. properly. Adequate information means
3. Speak non-judgmentally. providing truthful and reliable information
4. Speak from your own experience and which other people could use in bringing in
perspective, expressing your own thoughts, new knowledge or expertise.
needs, and feelings.
5. Seek to understand others ( rather than to be 5. Ethical communicators do not falsify
“right” or “more ethical than you”) information. It is intellectual theft when we use
6. Avoid speaking for others, for example by words or ideas of another and fail to credit the
characterizing what others have said without source. In research writing, we acknowledge
checking your understanding, or by sources of information through attribution and
universalizing your opinions, beliefs, values, citation. In speaking, we named the sources
and conclusions, assuming everyone shares of information in our speech.
them.
7. Manage your own personal boundaries: share 6. Ethical communicators respect the rights of
only what you are comfortable sharing. others to information. When there is respect
8. Respect the personal boundaries of others. for truth and an ethical consideration of
9. Avoid interrupting and side conversations. others, communicators show respect towards
10. Make sure that everyone has time to speak, the rights of others to information and access
that all members have relatively equal to information.
“airtime” if they want it.

GUIDELINES FOR ETHICAL COMMUNICATION

1. Ethical communicators are respectful of their

audiences. This means that communicators
must treat each other with respect for one’s
ideas and feelings as they interact, no matter
certain differences they may have such as on
opinions, views or perspectives.

2. Ethical communicators consider the

consequences of their communication. In
communicating, there must be consideration
on the effect of our communication to others
and ourselves. Our communication with
others influences how we behave and
respond to each other that is why it is
important to know and understand our
audiences. This would help us make better
judgments especially when ethical dilemmas
happen.